Manila: Former justice secretary Leila de Lima received almost P80 million (Dh6.66 million, about $1.67 million) from several inmates at the national penitentiary in suburban Muntinglupa from 2013 to 2016, witnesses said at the House of Representatives on Thursday.

The inmates were involved in concert productions, prostitution, and selling of illegal drugs.

“Since October 2013, [I gave to de Lima’s bagmen] P46 million (Dh3.58 million), [or] P3 million (Dh250,000) monthly. That is on top of the P1 million (Dh83,333) that I gave her every time I held a concert (at NBP). In a year, I could have given her a P16 million share [in such money making activities],” said inmate and Filipino drug lord Herbert Colangco in a testimony at the House of Representatives’ committee on justice, transcripts of which were released to the media.

Colangco said he also paid P100,000 (Dh8,333) ‘PR’ (public relations) payola” so he could “bring in contrabands [to sell at the NBP]”.

“I was able to smuggle 300 boxes of beer-in-can, concert equipment, golf cart … the money (PR payola) was collected by Sir Joenel [Sanchez or de Lima’s aide from the Presidential Security Group] on the instructions of Ronnie Dayan (de Lima’s driver and alleged lover),” said Colangco, referring to de Lima’s alleged bagmen.

A convict, JoJo Baligad, of Batang City Jail at NBP, also testified that he gave P3.8 million (Dh316,666) to Filipino drug lords at NBP, from January 2013 to September 2014.

“Of this amount, I know P1.5 million (Dh125,000) was directly given to Secretary De Lima, as this was directly admitted to me by Herbert Colanggo; P1.7 million (Dh141,667) was given to then Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Franklin Bucayu, his aide, a certain ‘Colonel Elie,’ while P600,000 (Dh50,000),,went to former BuCor officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos,” said Baligad.

Another witness, Noel Martinez, of the Genuine Ilocano Group, a big gang at NBP recalled that Jayvee Sebastian, another major Filipino drug lord, asked him for help to sell shabu (crystal meth), but requested to just refer people who could sell shabu for him. They sold as much as 200kg of shabu for Sebastian from 2013 to 2014, said Martinez, but did not give the value of this sale.

Hans Anton Tan, another inmate, testified that he gave P1 million (Dh83,333) to a certain Jose Adrian Dera, alleged as de Lima’s nephew and close-in aide, to help release the niece of imprisoned Chinese drug lord Peter Co, and her husband who were arrested in a buy-bust operation on March 25, 2016.

The payoff was Co’s order. Co had also given Dera “a total of P5 million from March 2016 until the May 2016 elections,” Tan said, adding that Dera also bought five kilograms of shabu from drug lords at the NBP.

Meanwhile, former NBP officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos testified that he delivered P5 million (Dh416,666) from convicted Chinese drug lord Peter Co, to de Lima’s residence in South Bay Village, Paranaque City, in November 2012.

He was then accompanied by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) official Jovencio Ablen. When de Lima received the money, she was with her driver Dayan. Ragos said, adding that he and Ablen delivered P4 million (Dh333,333), from Co, to de Lima in December 2012.

De Lima is facing complaints at the senate for allegedly protecting drug lords. She was ousted as head of the senate committee on justice for bringing in self-proclaimed hit man of Duterte when he was mayor of southern Davao City. He has been criticised for the death of 3,000 people in his anti-drug campaign, but the police said drug syndicates were behind more than 50 per cent of the incidents.

Illegal drug trade reached $8.4 billion a year in 2013, authorities said.